Heroes of Konoha
by RedLotusNin
Summary: Orochimaru and the Sound take over Konoha, and all the heroes are said to be dead, but 15 years later a boy named Oshiro Takai discovers the past through his dreams. Along with Shikamaru, the two must go on a quest to find the rest of the heroes. [Paused]
1. Red Petals

Orochimaru and the Sound take over Konoha, and all the heroes are said to be dead, but 15 years later after the devastating attack, a boy named Oshiro Takai discovers the past through his dreams. Takai bumps into Shikamaru and the two go on a quest to find the rest of the heroes. Can Takai bring the declined Konoha back to life?

IHN: Yeah I know, I writing yet another story. But I really want to do this one. There are pairings, ShikaIno and NejiTen are mentioned a lot but there is also SakuSasu and NaruHina. Not sure if this would be considered a angst or drama fic but I put angst.

_Heroes of Konoha_

_Chapter 1 Red Petals_

_It seemed so real. All of it. Watching it made me weep. It was so sad, so dramatic, and I didn't even know what was going on, I didn't even know who these people were. Are all dreams this realistic? I felt as if I was actually there, and the wierdest thing is, I got these dreams ever since I was ten... okay, so I'm only twelve, but who cares? These two years of dreams... It's so devastating. How could I describe it? Hmm... I'll just tell you what happened, though it happened so fast._

_The hand was trembling terribly. (Whose hand I do not know) Then dull blue eyes were shown. (Whose eyes I also do not know) The eyes wouldn't blink. They were just there, staring, in the reflection of the eyes you could see a dead man, it was hard to make out his face._

_Then the hand appeared again, except this time, it showed the arm too. There were scratches, cuts, and scars all up and down them, blood was splattered all over the ground._

_Then a couple appeared. It was a man holding a pretty woman, who looked like she was either dead or dying. The man was crying, crying depressing tears. Then two medic nins walked in and put the woman on the stretcher. When they left, I found myself looking at a white hallway. The same man was leaning against the wall. A nurse came out of the room and started talking to the man. I wish I heard what they were saying, but it must of been awful, because the man slid against the wall and onto the floor, sitting. He didn't cry or anything. He just stared. He didn't blink, they were just wide and big, as if he was watching the world come to an end. Maybe his world came to an end._

_This is the saddest part. It was a white floor. Just a perfectly white floor. Then there was a beautiful woman, with long hair, just lying there, her hair spread out and her bangs stuck to her forehead. Her eyes just depressed and sad. I don't know why I felt my heart being stabbed when I watched this. Red petals were on the floor. Maybe the red represented blood, or maybe it was something about her. She wasn't crying, but there were tears in her eyes, they just wouldn't fall. I felt like crying when I saw her, but I can't tell why._

_Then I saw a pair of silver orbs staring. The eyes looked as if they were searching for something, or just waiting for something to come._

_Then I saw the the beautiful woman again. She was sitting, her back against a Sakura Tree. Petals flying everywhere. But I don't think they were Sakura petals, because the petals were red instead of pink. She was crying this time, her hand was hiding her eyes, I couldn't hear her, but I knew she was crying, because her body was trembling._

_Then I saw a man, his face was entirely covered in shadow. His hand was calm and relaxed._

_Then another man appeared. He was sitting on a roof, staring out, next to him was a woman, who looked a bit older but they both looked very similar. Maybe they were siblings._

_Then a saw a woman with very short hair. Her eyes were silver and she was dressed in a very elegant blue kimono and she was running (With difficulty) through water. She looked like she was running towards someone. A friend? A relative? A lover? I didn't now. Her pale hand was reaching out as if she was trying to catch the mysterious person. Then someone (Who I reconized as the man who had the (Possible) sibling) grabbed her forearm, stopping her from running any farther. She kept trying to run away with tears streaming down her cheeks while the man tried to calm her down. It hurt to see her cry so badly, but it hurt more when she fell to her knees, giving up._

_Then a strange man appeared who looked tired and his eyes looked dead. He was heavily injured and his blood was everywhere. He looked hurt, but I think it was only partly because of the injuries. I think he lost something more then that._

_Then I saw a woman, who had those badly scarred arms. She would have been prettier then the rest of the girls if her arms weren't so badly cut. I saw (Not heard) her talking to a man, he had the same eyes as the short haired woman. And he was talking to her also, but I think he said something hurtful, because the woman had tears going down her eyes._

_And that's all that happened. It was scary. It was scary. It wasn't normal. I was tired of these dreams (If you could call them dreams) I think it's my destiny to find out what these dreams meant. Wierd. When I said destiny, I thought of those silver eyes that were searching._

End of Chapter

IHN: I hope you guys liked this. Please review!

P.S. Should I put songs in some chapters? If yes, tell me some good ones I could put.


	2. I've Seen that Guy

IHN: Er... Just wanted to get further in this. Also, did anyone get to read the next _Who's the Best? _chap? We posted the eighth one. Did you read it because we didn't get one review for it. Oh well, onto the story.

_Heroes of Konoha_

_Chapter 2- I've seen that Guy_

I woke up with a jump, I sat up in my futon. I stared at the wall, thinking. My wall was white, perfectly white. I jumped when I heard someone knock on my door.

"Takai? Takai!" Shouted the voice on the other side of the door. It was my mom. I sighed. Were all moms annoying or was it just mine?

"Yeah?" I shouted at the door.

"Get your lazy butt up! You have training today!" She shouted at me. Maybe it was just me. Sigh.

After I got dressed I went to eat. Can't a kid eat without his little sister pestering him over and over and so on?

"Your genjutsu is weak, I'm just an academy student and I already know that!" She shouted at me. Are you allowed to tie your little sister to a pole and burn it? "And you have pratically NO muscles! Is your taijutsu even good?"

"I don't know! Wanna find out?" I snapped at her. She just gave me this evil look. Did we have a pole laying around anywhere?

After eating I walked outside and saw my older sister training with this one guy. I forgot his name but he was pretty cool, then again, maybe he just seemed cool because he wasn't failing in Taijutsu and Genjutsu. Yeah, my little sister was right, I'm a bad ninja, if it wasn't for my teammates, I never would have passed that bell test. Unlike my perfect sister, I'm a failure. I had the worst grades back at the academy, I was the one who was always getting in the way, I was the one on my team who didn't get a chance to grab the bell, and last but not least, my butt was easily kicked. My friend and teammate Aiko said I had alot of courage, and that was a good thing, my other teammate Masakazu joked around and said I was a weakling, but it was true, I was weak.

"Hey Takai!" I heard that one guy greet me. Why couldn't I remember his name? It was Aki something.

"Hey!" I greeted back. Might as well be polite.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"Training." I answered.

"Good Luck!" He shouted back and then he went back to sparring with my sister.

My sis says they went on one mission together and he has been following her ever since. He probaly likes her, I wouldn't mind if they got married, he was a nice guy.

"Takai!" I heard my sis shout. Why was everyone stopping me?

"Yeah?" I asked, facing the two.

"Train hard, you're really weak, you could use a lot of it. If you ever want to be a good ninja, you need to work harder." She told me. Was that advice or an insult? Maybe both?

"Er... Thanks?" I said, I turned and walked to training. I was confused the whole way to my training. I wasn't thinking about my sister, or whatever that guy's name was. I was thinking of that dream, it was so wierd. Suddenly, I felt an intense pain in my head. It was for only a split second, but it hurt really bad. I sat down on the grass, clutching my head. When I felt okay again, I stood up to walk to the training grounds. The first thing I saw when I got up was a shop across the street. I've seen it before, it got closed down about 15 years ago. The family who used to own it died or something, I thought nothing of it.

I finally made it to the training grounds. Aiko was there. I liked Aiko, she was really nice. She immediatly waved to me.

"Hi Takai!" She greeted. I waved back.

"Hi!" I Shouted back.

"Heh, Am I late?" Asked a voice behind me, I turned around and saw Masakazu, but of course, anyone could see Masakazu, he was really tall. He was grinning widely.

"No, you made it on time." Said Aiko.

"Hey Aiko!" I heard Masakazu greet.

"Hmm... where's sensei?" I wondered. He wasn't usually late.

"He must be late, let's do something until he comes. Let's go play a game or something..." Suggested Aiko.

"No, I really have to train..." I said, but it was true, I really needed it.

"Yeah, Takai's right. Let's train instead." Masakazu agreed. "Is that okay Aiko?"

"Of course! I need to work on my dodging, can we do that?" Aiko asked.

"Er... I guess, you guys have to dodge my weapons alright?" Said Masakazu. I could tell he didn't want to work on dodging, since both his aim and dodging was perfect.

"Okay!" Chirped Aiko. I nodded to agree. Our training started out great. I was actually doing an okay job. Everything was wonderful... until... my eyes wandered. In the corner of my eyes, I glanced at someone. I turned my head to look at him. He was so fimiliar. Where have I seen him? Then it struck me. He was the guy in my dream! He was the guy who was standing in the hallway and the guy who was holding the pretty girl (Who ended up going on the stretcher) in my dream! I didn't know he was real!

"Look out!" Masakazu's voice shouted, I turned around to see a kunai flying at me, suddenly someone pulled me.

"Hey, you okay?" Asked the voice of the person who pulled me. I looked up and saw my sensei. I ignored him and looked at the streets. The man dissapeared in the crowd.

I saw that guy, I saw him before. But who is he really?

End of Chapter

IHN: Please Review! And if you didn't see our eigth chapter of _Who's the Best? _Please check it out.


	3. I Know Him

IHN: Er... some updates on the profile page thingy so... if you wanna check it out.

_Heroes of Konoha_

_Chapter 3- I Know Him_

For the rest of the training session, I couldn't help but keep looking back at the streets. There were no signs of the man. Often, Masakazu had to tell me to snap out of it.

"Hey weakling, snap out of it!" Joked Masakazu.

I turned to continue our training but it looked like sensei was about to announce something important.

"Okay! We're going on a mission so we must report to Orochimaru's office. Let's start!" Our sensei walked off with us following close behind. While we were walking, I heard Masakazu whisper.

"Takai, are you okay? You've been acting so strange lately..." He was my best friend, I should've told him the truth, but what was I supposed to say? That a guy from my dreams is coming to life? That I'm getting messages and visions about some people that I don't even know? That I've been having strange dreams for two years straight?

"I'm fine... I've just been disracted lately..." I told him, but what else was I supposed to say? He didn't look so sure but in the end, he looked away. He didn't say anything after that. Was I that easy to read?

We made it to the Orochimaru's office. Orochimaru was the Kage but he was creepy in my opinion. We had to sacrifice the prodigy of our village every 3 years so he could prefrom his technique and take over his body. I didn't understand why we had to sacrifice our strongest guy just so our Kage could become ultra powerful. In the end, we got assigned to an easy D-Rank mission that had something to do with a man's damaged house or something like that. I wasn't really paying attention but I didn't want to look like I was dozing off, not that I could, I always felt likeOrochimaru was staring at me (Which he wasn't) and it scared me.

We were heading out the door when I decided to go to the bathroom before we left for the mission. If the man's bathroom was broken or something, I should probaly go now.

"Hey, sensei! Can I go to the bathroom real quick?" I asked him. He gave me a nod and I left. When I left to go to the bathroom, I got lost and couldn't find my way. I sighed. What did a guy have to do to get to the bathroom? I turned my head left and right seeing if I passed it, not noticing I wandered into a room and clumsily bumped into a shelf, knocking papers all over the floor.

I bent down so I could pick up papers when I saw a list. On the list were a bunch of pictures of people and their names. My eyes traveled down and landed on one picture, I recognized the picture as the same man who was in the streets! What should I do? Look at his profile? But this was top secret information, I could get in huge trouble. This was the answer to all my questions though. I turned to look at his profile and I memorized his address and looked at his name, the name read Nara Shikamaru.

End of Chapter

IHN: Haha, that was really short but I'll be updating soon so don't hate me. Haha, bit of a cliffy at the end. In the next chapter, Takai prepares himself to find the answers to his strange dreams!


	4. Shikamaru starts the Story

IHN: Another update! Yay for me!

...Er... If I owned Naruto... Shikamaru would be mine! ...Okay, so mine aren't as good as RLN's! Sue me! NO WAIT! DON'T!

**_Blah_ **equals Narrator.

_Heroes of Konoha_

_Chapter 4- Shikamaru starts the story_

I didn't bother to go on the mission. I brushed right past them. I could hear my teammates and sensei shout back at me.

"Takai! Where are you going?" Aiko asked as I ran past her. I ignored her, but I could hear Masakazu shout as well.

"He can't leave! He was with us just a minute ago!"

At that moment, voices entered my mind.

_"He can't be gone! He was with us just a minute ago!" _I heard a woman shriek.

_"She can't be dead, she was just alive a minute ago..." _I heard a calm voice say.

_"They can't all be dead, they were with me just a minute ago..." _I heard a voice cry.

But I continued running, these short images and voices weren't going to be here anymore! I was going to get an answer to all of it, I just had to find this man.

My lungs felt like they were going to burst out of my chest. I passed the old closed down shop. I passed my house. I passed the hospital and my head hurt again, but I ignored it. I ignored the pain in my head. I ignored the pain in my chest. I was close, very close, close to finding out the purpose of these voices and people and dreams. Just a little more, just a little longer, I kept telling myself.

I found the house. My heart's thumps matched with my steps. The house was plain, I swung the gate open and ran towards the house. I rapped my knuckles against the door repeatedly.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

"I'm coming!" Exclaimed a voice behind the door. The door swung open, the man, who was named Nara Shikamaru, opened the door. "Hello?"

"H-Hi... I-I'm Oshiro Takai and I really need your help... you're N-Nara Shikamaru r-right?" My voice trembled. I don't know why though.

"...I have other things I need to do..." He said to me. He was about to shut the door but I grabbed it.

"Please? It'll only take a minute..." I pleaded. He sighed.

"I hate arguing, too much work, come in..." He said, giving in. I held back my grin. We stepped into his house. Not much was in there, just the stuff you need to survive and a go board. He sat at the go board and I sat across from him. He passed me a go bowl with black stones.

"Black goes first..." He said, although I already knew this. I placed a black stone on the board.

"So what do you need?" He asked. "I don't get many visitors..."

"Er... I know this sounds crazy but... I've seen you before..." I told him.

"Well, I was outside today-"

"No..." I said, cutting him short. He took my black stones away as prisoners. He was pretty good. "I've seen you in my... well..."

"Well..." He told me to go on.

He was _really _good.

"I've seen you in my dreams..." I said. He looked at me with a confused expression, but I continued. "With this girl... and I've seen you in a hospital talking with a nurse... and just today, now that I think about it, I heard your voice on my way here..."

It was the truth, I recognized his voice as the calm voice just now.

He's really good at this...

"...What did the girl and the nurse look like?" He asked slowly.

Cross that. He's kickass...

"Well... the nurse had pink hair... and the girl and blond hair..." I said, flashbacking to my dreams. He dropped his stone on the board, knocking my soon to be prisoners stones all over the board. I looked at him confused.

"...When did you start...seeing this...?" He asked.

"I started 2 years ago..." I told him. "Please... I'm really confused... could you just... explain everything to me? What happened?"

"...I don't know what to say...Okay... here..."

_:Shikamaru's Story:_

_**It was 15 years ago, I was 17. Just two years ago, Orochimaru was killed and a new country was formed called the Shadow Country. Not too far away from Konoha and the Sand.**_

_"Tsunade Sama..." Said Kiba, entering the room along with Shino._

_"Oh, hello..." Said Tsunade, Sakura and Shizune put down their stacks of papers on Tsunade's desk and turned to look at the duo._

_"What do you need?" Asked Shino._

_"Well... do you remember that mission I sent your friend on?" Tsunade asked._

_"Friend?" Asked Shino._

_"She's talking about Hinata, duh!" Kiba told Shino._

_"Well... there's been a problem..." Said Tsunade._

_"Problem?" Wondered Kiba and Shino in unison. Sakura and Shizune looked puzzled as well._

_"Hinata, as well as the other ninjas, have been held captive by the enemy..." Stated Tsunade, she sighed heavily._

_"What? When did this happen?" Asked Kiba in a demanding voice._

_"One of our ninjas found out and informed me. I just thought you deserved to know..." Said Tsunade._

_"Thank you for informing us Hokage Sama..." Said Shino._

_"Whoa whoa whoa... Thank you for informing us! What's that about! We have to help Hinata!" Said Kiba, grabbing Shino's arm before he could leave._

_"I'm sorry Kiba, I don't think we can do anything at the moment, we're going to have to rely on them coming to us..." Said Tsunade._

_"Yeah but-" Started Kiba._

_"If the hokage says there's nothing we can do then there is absolutely nothing we can do..." Said Shino, "get over it Kiba."_

_"What? How could you say something like that!" Said Kiba, snapping his head towards Shino's direction. "How could you not help your friend?"_

_"A ninja's mission is to fight for their country. A ninja must serve their leader. A ninja can't have emotions get in the way." Said Shino. "You too, must not let your emotions make you do something entirely stupid."_

_"Do you actually think that way-"_

_"Tsunade Sama!" Sakura exclaimed suddenly._

_"Sakura, I was talk-" Started Kiba._

_"There's a bomb right outside the building!" Exclaimed Sakura, ignoring Kiba._

_"What?" Everyone in the room shouted._

_The sound of the explosion sounded like a roll of deep thunder. Sakura blocked her face as shards of glass sped towards her. Sounds of crashing and the heat of fire were sensed. Tsunade fell on her back and Shizune thudded hard against the floor, unconscious._

_"Shizune! Sakura! Are you two alright?" Tsunade bellowed above the flames._

_"I-I'm fine Tsunade Sama!" Sakura managed to answer. Tsunade covered her mouth as she coughed._

_"Are you three alright?" Asked Shino._

_"Shizune's unconscious and I think Sakura and I are fine..." Said Tsunade, realizing Shizune was knocked out cold. Kiba picked up Shizune._

_"Come on! We have no time to lose!" Exclaimed Kiba, trotting out of the room. Sakura and Tsunade and Shino followed close behind._

_"Tsunade Sama! What about the other survivors?" Asked Sakura._

_"Shit..." Swore Tsunade._

_-Meanwhile-_

_"Oh come on Neji! One last spar!" Said Lee._

_"No, I have other things to do right now... maybe later..." Said Neji._

_"Okay, we'll be here if you need us!" Said Tenten. Neji just raised his hand behind him as a goodbye as he walked off._

_Tenten and Lee took a break from training, sitting on a bench not far away from a greenhouse._

_"The flowers are pretty around this time of year..." Tenten said, looking at the beautiful plants in the greenhouse. Lee's ears then perked. "What's that noise?" He asked._

_The two could hear the sound of glass crashing and fiery heat around them, Tenten shielded herself with her arms as the glass shards were forced towards the two ninjas. The shards scratched and scarred her arms badly. Tenten fell back and looked for Lee._

_"Lee!" She managed to shout out, she coughed from the smoke. "Lee!"_

_"Oh god..." She murmered to herself, looking for her teammate._

_"Lee!" She shrieked louder. But there was no answer. She looked around frantically._

_"Tenten!" Shouted a voice. Tenten looked behind her and saw Neji._

_"I saw the explosion!" He said._

_"Where's Lee?" She asked._

_"There's no time! We'll be burned!" Exclaimed Neji._

_"But what if he's still alive?" She asked._

_"If we find him it'll be too late! He's gone!"_

_"He can't be gone! He was with us just a minute ago!" She shrieked._

_"Come on! We'll both burn to death if you don't come!"_

_"Use your byakugan to find him!"_

_"IT'S TOO LATE!" Neji shouted at her._

_"But-"_

_Neji grabbed her arm, which Tenten noticed was bleeding and scarred._

_-Meanwhile-_

_Lee's eyes opened._

_"I can't die... not yet..." Said Lee, staggering upwards. He looked at his chest and saw a shard of glass stuck in it, he pulled it out carefully and looked around. Tenten probaly made it out by now. Lee ran out of the flames and explosion and into the safe_

_mountains._

_-Meanwhile-_

_"We should've looked for Lee! He could be dead! You could've used your Byakugan-" Started Tenten._

_"If we could find him, we would still have to get him and get out of the flames..." Said Neji._

_"But he can't be dead! His life! His dreams-"_

_"What dreams? Those aren't dreams, those are excuses for his disadvantage, he wasn't going to become a good ninja... We have to find the sou-"_

_"What? Is that how you really think of your teammate?" Asked Tenten, looking at Neji, but only saw his back._

_"It's the truth, some people weren't made to be shinobi..." Said Neji. "We can't keep blabbing now, the town is obviously under attack."_

_Neji jumped off onto a building and leaped off rooftop to rooftop in search for the Hokage. Tenten watched as Neji dissapeared off, and left in the opposite direction._

_-Meanwhile-_

_"Oh come on Shikamaru! All you do is sloth around your house! Get out! Be active! It's a beautiful day!" Said Ino in a sunny voice._

_"I'd rather not..." Said Shikamaru, putting away the Shouji board and pieces._

_"Oh come on! You could use some training! Cross that, you could use alot of training! You may have the brains but you still need the strength, that's your only weakness!" Said Ino._

_"No, my only weakness is nagging women..." Said Shikamaru, Ino put her fists on her hips._

_"Hardy har har, Nara Shikamaru..." she said angrily._

_"Go train by yourself..." Said Shikamaru, shrugging it off. Ino sighed._

_"There's just no pleasing you is there Shikamaru? Only Chouji would have a _chance_ of getting you to train, but he's away on a mission. Alright, I'll go, but you can't sit around here all day, come meet me at our old training grounds in an hour okay?" Said Ino, opening the front door._

_"Yeah yeah..." Said the shadow user._

_"Bye!" Chirped Ino. Shikamaru rolled his eyes._

_"Bye..."_

_"See you in an hour!" Said Ino happily._

_"Not unless you dissapear..." He said a bit unpatiently._

_Ino frowned before shutting the door._

_**I kind of feel guilty about it now, not saying good bye properly. If I knew what was going to happen, I never would've acted like that. I was walking towards our old training area, when I saw something not right.**_

_Shikamaru froze in his spot when he saw the training area. The area was covered in ash and ninjas were getting rid of the flames with water jutsus._

_"What's going on here?" Shikamaru asked a ninja._

_"There was an explosion! We're under attack! They're everywhere! We're sending ninjas all over the place to get rid of the bombs!" Exclaimed the ninja._

_"Where's my friend?" He asked._

_"Was she a girl?" The jounin asked. "With blond hair?"_

_Shikamaru nodded._

_"She's over there, we're getting a stretcher for her..." Said the ninja, before running off to god knows where._

_"Stretcher?" Wondered Shikamaru aloud, as a chill of fear and worry shivered down his spine. He turned his head in each direction, and at last, he found his former teammate._

_"Ino!" He exclaimed running over to her. "A-Are you alright?"_

_Shikamaru stared at the badly bruised and scarred Ino. It was obvious she was not okay. Shikamaru wasn't even sure if it was Ino, he crouched down so he could come face to face with her and saw, that it was indeed Ino._

_"Ino?" Asked Shikamaru a bit loudly._

_"I'm... not deaf..." Ino said._

_"Uh... T-That's good news..." Shikamaru said, trying to lighten the mood but it wasn't working. He was never good at that. Shikamaru got up and walked over to a medic nin._

_"How bad are her injuries?" Shikamaru asked a medic nin._

_"Pretty severe... Oh, Here comes the stretcher. Are you her boyfriend or something?" Asked the medic nin._

_"I'm a friend..." Said Shikamaru._

_"Well if I were you, I'd at least say goodbye, with the condition she's in, she might not make it." Informed the medic nin._

_Shikamaru stared as the medic nin walked off. Was he serious? Shikamaru stared at Ino for awhile before walking up to her._

_"Uhm... I'll come visit you at the hospital okay? Just be careful..." Said Shikamaru, giving her a friendly hug. The medic nins then put her on the stretcher._

_-Later-_

_Shikamaru was leaning against the hallway wall. Shikamaru heard footsteps and turned his head to see Sakura dressed in a nurse's outfit._

_"Oh, Shikamaru... uhm... what are you still doing here?" Asked Sakura._

_"Still?" Wondered Shikamaru._

_"Yeah, didn't you know?" Asked Sakura._

_"Know what?" Asked Shikamaru._

_"Oh... Shikamaru..." Said Sakura sadly, her head bent down and her face filled with solemn. "I thought they told you... I don't know how to say this easily but... they took Chouji away today..."_

_"Chouji? I thought he was still on a mission..." Said Shikamaru._

_"He was sent immediatly to the hospital..." Said Sakura._

_"What do you mean they took him away?" Asked Shikamaru, he hesitated before asking._

_"I went into his room and he wasn't there, so he must've been taken away..." Said Sakura._

_"That still doesn't answer my question..." Said Shikamaru._

_"Shikamaru... Chouji's dead..." Said Sakura. Shikamaru stared at Sakura._

_"W-What?" He asked._

_"He's..." Started Sakura, but was interuppted when a nurse stepped out of Ino's hospital room._

_"I'm sorry to say this, but Ino is no longer in her hospital room, which means she taken away." Said the nurse, informing the bad news._

_"W-What?" Asked Sakura, staring at the nurse in fear._

_Shikamaru took a step back and pressed his back against the wall, he just stared out into space, his face shocked. He slowly slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor. He didn't blink he just stared, his two best friends died, and his world _had _come to an end._

End of Chapter

Next Chapter: Shikamaru continues the story. The story was sad, but it justs get worse.

Please Review.


	5. The End of Shika's Story

IHN: I reread the last chapter and I knew what was going to happen so I didn't feel as much emotion as you guys did. I really appreciated your reviews. If you add on all the bad things that happened, it gets worse in my opinion, not by much, but it does get worse.

_Heroes of Konoha_

_Chapter 5- The End of Shikamaru's Story_

"And that's it?"I asked, hoping for a better ending.

"No, it gets worse. Along time ago, about 20 years ago, Tsunade decided to become Hokage, around the time, Orochimaru was searching for someone to heal his arms, which became wounded in the fight with the third Hokage." Said Shikamaru.

"Hokage? Fire Shadow? You mean Orochimaru fought the leader of Konoha?" I Said, Shikamaru nodded.

"He always wanted to take over the Leaf Country, ever since he didn't become the Yondaime." Said Shikamaru.

"What happened to him? The fourth I mean..." I Said.

"He sacrificed his life, to save the villagers from a Kitsune demon, which he sealed into a newborn boy..."

"Who was the boy?" I Asked.

"...I was getting to that. Anyways, Tsunade was the best medic nin which was the reason Orochimaru needed her to heal his arms. Instead of agreeing, she fought Orochimaru instead, and Naruto, convinced her to become Hokage." Said Shikamaru. I looked confused. He never mentioned a Naruto, but he continued. "The day of the attack, Orochimaru survived his 'Death' and fused the Shadow country and Sound country together. He conquered Konoha since Tsunade had no choice but to surrender, for the sake of the people."

I instantly remembered Shikamaru talking about the Shadow Country before we started.

"Orochimaru was still angered at Tsunade for never healing his arms so he told her, with pleasure, that as a Hokage, she would be just like the other fools and die too, trying to protect her country. She said..." Here he paused, but started again.

"She said that if a fool would die to protect what is precious to them, then she was more then proud to die for Konoha, just like her teacher and grandfather, and her brother and boyfriend." Said Shikamaru. I felt a shudder in me, Orochimaru freaked me out, I can't believe someone would speak like that in his face.

"So Orochimaru took over Konoha... what happened to everyone else?"

_:Shikamaru's Story:_

_**After the attack and my dead friends, I thought life couldn't get any harder. Orochimaru conquered Konoha. I was depressed, but after two years, I then lost hope.**_

_**Hinata was actually held captive by the Shadow country, she and the other ninjas came back since Sound and Shadow were allies. Shino and Kiba never spoke to each other, as well as Neji and Tenten. Tenten and Shino later left the village. After Lee dissapeared, no one found him. They believed he was near the mountains but we still couldn't find him.**_

_Sakura walked up to a fimiliar apartment door and knocked._

_No answer._

_"Naruto?" She asked, when no one answered, she opened the door, revealing a perfectly bare room._

_"What's this...?" She wondered aloud, as she found an envelope._

_I decided to leave. I can't serve Orochimaru. I won't._

_Sasuke left too but we went our seperate ways. We are both hoping our friends_

_do the same. If you serve Orochimaru, and you are reading this letter, then I_

_do not care. Come after me, but I'll bet my own life that I can't go back._

_That I won't go back, I'll only go back to Konoha._

_-Naruto_

_-Meanwhile-_

_Hinata was striking the tree hard._

_"Hey Hinata!" Shouted a fimiliar voice, Hinata turned around and saw Kiba._

_"Oh, h-hey Kiba..." The shy girl greeted._

_"What are you doing out here? Today's your birthday! That's what you're dressed up for right!" Said Kiba, pointing to Hinata's blue kimono._

_"I know but..." Started Hinata._

_"Oh come on! We have to get to the party! You invited everyone you wanted right?" Said Kiba._

_"Uhm... sort of..." Said Hinata, Kiba looked at her confused._

_"Who did you forget to invite?" Asked Kiba. Hinata blushed._

_"Uhm... Naruto..."_

_"You had a crush on him since you were twelve! And he's your friend! He won't say no!" Said Kiba, encouraging her to ask Naruto._

_"I guess you're right..." Said Hinata._

_"Come on let's go over..." Kiba trailed off._

_"What is it?" Asked Hinata._

_"Is that Naruto?" Asked Kiba, he sniffed and then pointed. Hinata turned but could only see trees. She activated her byakugan. Past the trees, she could see Naruto on the other side of a river. On his back was a bag filled with different things._

_He's leaving! Hinata concluded in her mind. She ran off. _

_"Hinata?" Kiba called after her._

_Hinata ran towards Naruto in a fast fury._

_If he's leaving... I have to tell him! Thought Hinata, as she finally caught up. She looked around but couldn't find a bridge. She was so desperate to tell him though._

_"Naruto!" She shouted, but he was too far away. Desperate, she started running through the river. "Naruto!"_

_Still he could not hear her. Someone then grabbed her forearm._

_"Hinata, he's leaving." Said Kiba._

_"I know, I have to tell him-"_

_"You're going to distract him, just let him come back. He'll come back." Said Kiba._

_"But I have-"_

_"Hinata. He has something he needs to deal with. I can just tell. It's like instinct." Said Kiba. "He's determined, if you interrupt him, he might blow you off."_

_Hinata stopped but nodded. Kiba let of her forearm and backed off. Hinata wiped a tear from under her eye._

_It was her birthday, and instead of getting what she wanted, she lost it._

_-Meanwhile-_

_Sasuke stopped at the gates. He remembered the time he ran away from Konoha to Orochimaru. Now he was doing the opposite. He was running away from Orochimaru, for Konoha. He stepped out of the gates and turned around to face the gate._

_"Konoha's fire will always burn." He said, and left._

_-Later-_

_"Huh? You're leaving!" Said Shikamaru shocked. Neji, Kiba and Hinata looked confused as well._

_"Sasuke and Naruto left, it's only the right thing for me to leave." Said Sakura. Hinata's face grew solemn a bit._

_"Shino and Tenten left last year and I guess that got Naruto and Sasuke thinking, and now, it's got me thinking. I don't want to live under Orochimaru's control." Said Sakura. Everyone looked at each other in unison._

_"It's going to be dangerous, you know that right?" Said Neji._

_"Then bring it on." Said Sakura. "It's a dangerous road but... I'll take the challenge."_

_**So there it was. Kiba left that night. Neji left a week after Kiba, and Hinata left a month after that.**_

_:End Story:_

"That's it?" I said. "That's the story? What about Ino and Chouji? What about you? You never left?"

"Of course I didn't leave. I was always a coward. I was strong, yes, but I was a coward. I'm a lazy guy. I didn't want to run around. Besides, my best friends died, I was too depressed." Said Shikamaru. I thought for a moment, and then looked up at him.

"They're not dead..."

End of Chapter

Next Chapter: Not dead? What is Takai talking about? Takai reveals valuable information that could change both his and Shikamaru's lives.

Please Review.


	6. A Mission

IHN: Spring Break started so I have tons of time to update. (Grin)

_Heroes of Konoha_

_Chapter 6- A Mission_

"What do you mean?" Shikamaru asked me, giving me a puzzling look.

"Well, I'm not sure, but it's a possibility they are alive. Remember when Kiba and Shino were informed about Hinata? Tsunade said that she and a group of ninjas were on a mission. And later on, you said they were captured by Shadow and Sound, who were alliances." I told him. "A ninja came back to the village..."

"You think that ninja was Chouji? It's possible, I mean, I didn't get to learn much about the mission but Chouji did leave the same day Hinata and the other ninjas did."

"Exactly! And Chouji knew they were going to invade Konoha!" I told him, but he didn't look so sure.

"If Chouji knew, why wouldn't he tell the Hokage?" He asked me.

"Sakura said Chouji was sent to the hospital immediatly. Maybe he didn't get a chance." I told him.

"It's a slim possibility. But Chouji died in the hospital, so did Ino." Said Shikamaru.

"You don't know that for sure! Sakura and the nurse just looked in the room and the patients weren't there, they just assumed they were dead! Chouji and Ino probaly just left the village. Chouji left because he was in no condition to fight and he was sent to the hospital the same day Konoha was invaded. Maybe Chouji went into hiding so he wouldn't have to serve Orochimaru, just like the others. Ino probaly knew the ninjas attacked, but was caught in the explosion. She probaly left the hospital so she could tell the Hokage, but the building was burned down." I explained.

"How could they just waltz right out of the building unnnoticed though?" Asked Shikamaru.

"I saw windows. Maybe they got out through the windows. And everyone outside was battling so they could get away without getting noticed." I answered.

"Okay, don't get me wrong, I really hope Chouji and Ino are alive, but what are the chances? Although it is a possible maybe, it's still an unlikely chance. Even if they were alive, what good could this do for us?" He told me.

"Konoha seemed like a good place. The Hokage seemed like a good person and so did all the citizens, especially you and all your other friends, not just Ino and Chouji. It's like a saint compared to the recent Sound village. Your friends could still be alive. Maybe they could help restore Konoha back to its glory." I told him.

"...Are you saying what I think you're saying?" He asked me, with a suspicious look on his face.

"Exactly!" I said grinning. "We should get your friends back and overthrow Orochimaru!"

"It's like... impossible!" He said.

"We still stand a chance!" I told him. "Don't give up so easliy!"

"Ha, shows what you know, I give up easily all the time..." He snorted, I frowned.

"That's not what I mean! The old Konoha civilians still remember Konoha, if we stand up to Orochimaru, maybe they'll join in too." I said. Shikamaru groaned.

"I don't know..."

"Come on, this is your only chance of getting your friends back!" I told him. He stared at me for awhile before sighing.

"You are so troublesome, but when you put it that way... yes. I'll do it." He agreed. I couldn't believe my ears.

"Really?"

"Yes, but hey. It isn't going to be easy, not only do we have to survive the wilderness, we have to survive Orochimaru and his men, and you're only a kid, and I resigned as a ninja 15 years ago..." He said. I frowned.

"You're right, you're so out of shape! I mean sure, you're not fat, but you have no muscle!" I blurted out, realizing it. He glared at me.

"Thanks! You made my day!" He said in a sarcastic tone.

"Hehe, Sorry." I said nervously.

"I'm not that offended, I've never been in shape..." He confessed, shrugging, I stared.

"Then... how did you become jounin?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Don't you have to be strong to be a jounin?" I asked.

"Most of the time, but I don't need strength. I only know two jutsus..." He said. I gaped at him.

"_Two?_" I was screwed. We were screwed. We were going to die. He smirked.

"Kagemane no Justu and Kage Kubishibari no Jutsu."

"..."

"Alright! We'll leave tomorrow! Just bring what you need, we don't need the extra weight." He said. Didn't he realize we were going to die?

"...Okay..." I said slowly, before leaving his house. Before shutting the door, I noticed he fell asleep. (Which is sort of wierd because he was awake just a few moments ago.)

Yeah. We were screwed.

End of Chapter

IHN: The ending sort of sucked... Anyways, kind of short, but that's okay right?

Next Chapter: Takai and Shikamaru leave the village, what is in store for them?


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